Silverwing's Story
by Umbreon89
Summary: Stormclan, Nightclan, Leafclan, and Breezeclan are the four clans. Every Green-Leaf, as a sign of respect, one of the clans offers up a kit to a join a new clan. Silverkit is the daughter of Brightstar and Brackenclaw, the leader and deputy of Nightclan. Silverkit must leave her old clan behind and join a new clan. Which clan will she join? Warriors series by Erin Hunter
1. Chapter 1

I open my eyes. The area around me is unfamiliar. It isn't the cozy nursery I am used to. Instead, I am in a small, dark cave. Off to one side is a long tunnel. I don't know where it leads to, or where I am, for that matter. I am up and on my feet in an instant, swiveling my head around in panic. "Calm down, Silverkit." I turn my head and see Brackenclaw, my father, as well as the Nightclan deputy, striding towards me. I finally calm down a little. He's from Nightclan, my home. "Why am I here, Brackenclaw?" Brackenclaw stays many mouse-lengths away, not acting fatherly at all, but that is normal for me. Neither my mother, Brightstar, or my father ever show me affection of any kind, but for once, Brackenclaw looks at me with an emotion other than cold strictness. It is sympathy.

He explains it all. All of my life, the cats in my clan have given me odd looks, all filled with sympathy, and some with suspicion. I was always kept away from the other kits and told not to play with them. Whenever I asked my mother, Brightstar, why, she simply said, "because I say so." And I always listened. It isn't until now that I realize why I wasn't allowed to play with the other kits, or grow attached to them. I will never forget the chill I felt when my father explained it all to me.

"Every Green-Leaf, one of the clans must give up one of their kits to another clan. The four clans surrounding this cave, Nightclan, Stormclan, Leafclan, and Breezeclan, have never spilled each other's blood, and we want to keep it that way. By offering up one of our kits in the most prosperous time of the year, it shows our respect to the other clans. That's why you weren't allowed to become attached to anyone in the clan, including Brightstar and I. Now you have to choose which clan you want to join."

As the exact meaning of his words dawn on me, I start shaking. "B-but I don't want to leave Nightclan!" I shout, jumping to my paws. "You don't have a choice, Silverkit." My mind whirls, looking for a way out of this. "But you said I could choose whichever clan I wanted! What if I choose Nightclan?" He just shook his head. "No, you can't choose your home clan." Finally, I use my last possible argument. "But why me? Why not Volekit or Stripekit?" Once again, he just shakes his head. "Silverkit, you're the child of a clan leader. Anytime that a clan leader has a kit when it is their turn to give away a kit, they must choose theirs, otherwise it will seem selfish." Finally accepting that I have no other choice, I sit down again. "When do I choose?" I say quietly. "All of the clan leaders will report here at dawn. Then, you will make your choice." Before he can leave, I call after him. "Where am I?" He turns around and looks at me. "This is the Mooncave, where the leaders and medicine cats come to speak with Starclan."

As I slumber, I weigh my options in my head. I could join Leafclan. They live in the forested area across from Nightclan, preying on mostly squirrels and mice.

Or I could join Stormclan. They live to the right of Nightclan and to the left of Leafclan. Stormclan camp is in the middle of a small pond. It's perfect protection against the other clans because of the water. Only Stormclan cats learn to swim. They mostly catch fish.

But what would it be like to run with Breezeclan? They live on the moor, across from Stormclan and to the left of Nightclan. They are not sheltered from the harsh winds. They are the fastest of the clans, and they catch mostly rabbits.

I bite back a yowl of distress; why can't I just stay in Nightclan? I like it there. But as the thought enters my head, I take it back. I have no friends in Nightclan. My parents never bonded with me. They acted like total strangers. It's probably for the best; that way, if the clans ever _did _get into a fight, my loyalty would not be divided.

I wake to the sounds of paw steps. I stand up and stretch, shaking with anticipation. I still haven't chosen which clan to join. In the end, I know I will choose the right one.

The first cat to step into the cave is Brightstar. Brightstar doesn't even acknowledge me; she just goes and sits in front of me. Three more cats walk in and sit beside Brightstar. "Silverkit, it is time for you to choose." Brightstar said with no emotion on her face. The tom next to her looked at me. "Will you join Breezeclan?" That must be Swiftstar, the Breezeclan leader. "Or will it be Stormclan?" This time it is Reedstar, leader of Stormclan. "Or will you join Leafclan?" That's Willowstar, the Leafclan leader. I look between the faces of all of the cats. Brightstar, Reedstar, and Swiftstar are all showing no emotion, but when I look into Willowstar's gaze, I can see sympathy. I look once more between all of the cats before staring at my mother with my head held high as I say "I have made my choice."

They all watch me with expecting faces as I turn to look at Willowstar. "I will join Leafclan." I say. Willowstar smiled at me. "Then we will be on our way. Come, Silverkit." I get up and follow Willowstar with my tail held high, refusing to look back at me mother.

I gasp as I reach Leafclan territory. Willowstar gives me a look. "Sorry, it's just...it smells so different." Willowstar lets out a mrow of laughter. "Some day you will be able to identify each scent as a specific cats. For now, you just have to know which scent is for which clan." I nod as we enter the Leafclan camp.


	2. Chapter 2

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather bellow the highrock for a clan meeting!" Willowstar stands on top of the highrock as the rest of the Leafclan members pad out of their dens. I force my fur to stay flat. _They aren't your enemies anymore, _I remind myself. I sit down and look up at Willowstar. Willowstar leaps off of the highrock and stands at the base. She gestures for me to join her. I can feel the staring eyes of my new clanmates as I pad up to Willowstar.  
"As you can see," she says, gesturing to me, "Silverkit has chosen Leafclan as her new clan." The cats cheer for me as I look around the camp. The warriors den is positioned directly across from the entrance. The nursery and elder's den are next to it. The medicine cat den sits directly to the left of the entrance, with the apprentice den on the other side. Willowstar's den sits at the base of the highrock, facing towards the warriors den.

Willowstar clears her throat. "Silverkit has reached the age of six moons and it is time for her to be apprenticed. From this day forth, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Silverpaw." The clan chants my name. "Silverpaw, Silverpaw!" Willowstar quiets them with a flick of her tail. "I will be Silverpaw's mentor." The clan is silent for a moment. It is very rare for a leader to take on an apprentice, and when they do, it is usually only their deputies kits. "Silverpaw is now an official member of Leafclan. I expect you all to be nothing but kind to Silverpaw." And with that note, the clan scatters.

Two cats race towards me. The first is a brown tabby she-cat with soft green eyes. "Hi, I'm Seedpaw!" She says cheerfully. The tom beside her isn't as cheerful. "I'm Stonepaw." He says with what seems like forced enthusiasm. His fur is pitch-black, which only makes his icy blue eyes seem even lighter. "Hi! How long have you guys been apprentices?" I ask them. "Not very long. We were made apprentices about half a moon ago." Seedpaw replies with the same amount of enthusiasm. "Great! So we can become warriors together!" I exclaim. Stonepaw snorts. I ignore him. "Come on, Seedpaw, we have to go get bedding for the elders. Deerpelt will kill us if we don't bring him new bedding!" He says as he leads Seedpaw away. When he thinks I can't hear anymore, he murmurs softly, "Stay away from her. We don't know where her loyalties lie." I flinch and look away from them.

Willowstar pads up to me. "Come on, Silverpaw, I'm going to show you the territory." And without another word she bounds out of the camp. I race after her, excited to see Leafclan territory.

Willowstar stops short. I nearly ram right into her her as I stumble to a stop. "Take a deep breath, Silverpaw. What do you smell?" I open my jaws and scent the air. An unfamiliar scent reaches me. It's most certainly a cats scent, but I can't tell whose. "I smell a cat. Not Leafclan, though." Willowstar nods. "This is the border between Leafclan and Breezeclan. Take a good look at where you are. You don't want to end up crossing those borders." I nod and follow her as we race away.

Willowstar slows to a stop this time, so that way I don't run into her. Willowstar looks at me. "Do you recognize this place?" I look around. We're in a very large clearing. At the far end of the clearing is a large cave. I realize with a jolt that it's the Mooncave. "That's the Mooncave over there." I say. Willowstar nods. "Yes, this is called the Mooncave clearing, where the clans meet every moon for a gathering. When a leader needs to speak with Starclan, they do so in the Mooncave." A familiar scent reaches me. I let out a yowl of delight as I recognize it. "I smell Nightclan!" I say enthusiastically. Willowstar gives me a look. "Nightclan isn't your clan anymore, Silverpaw. You must know that. Your loyalties cannot be divided." I shuffle my paws. "Yes, Willowstar, I'm sorry." Willowstar nods. "Yes, that is Nightclan. To the right of the Mooncave is the border to Nightclan. Stormclan is to the left of the Mooncave." Willowstar leads me over to the Stormclan border. "Can you scent the Stormclan cats?" I open my jaws and scent the air. Sure enough, the Stormclan scent is strong here. I nod my head. "Good." Willowstar says as she walks away.

We stop at a river. "This is Riverrun, the only place in Leafclan territory that the river runs through. Follow it and you'll end up on Stormclan territory again. Because we have access to the river, we do catch a few fish, but only when prey is scarce." Willowstar crouches by the stream. Swift as a rabbit, she swipes her paw through the water. I can see a fish caught in her claws. She swiftly kills it and murmurs a silent thanks to Starclan. "While we're here, I might as well teach you to fish." She states. "Crouch down like I did. Be careful to make sure your shadow isn't covering the water." I follow her directions. "When you see a fish, grab it." I wait patiently for a fish to come through. After a while, I see a flash of silver. I swipe my paw at the flash and I'm surprised when I manage to hook a fish. I kill it the same way Willowstar did and look at her. "Good job, Silverpaw. Since the clan doesn't really like fish, you can eat yours fish. When you are hunting for the clan, you are not permitted to eat until you have brought prey back to the camp." I take a bite out of the fish and wrinkle my nose. Willowstar lets out a _mrow_ of laughter. "It's not the best taste, but you will get used to it." I nod my head and finish the fish.


	3. Chapter 3

_Snap! _The mouse looks up from it's seed and gives a frightened squeak before dashing off. I groan and turn back to Willowstar. "You have to remember to watch out for twigs or leaves. A key part to hunting is to always be silent." I dip my head. "Yes, Willowstar." Willowstar smiles. "Well, I'll let you go off and hunt on your own for a bit. Remember, you are not allowed to eat until after you have fed the elders." I dip my head as she races off back to camp. I scent the air and head off into the forest, searching for prey.

I wake up with a start. My heart is beating fast. I can still hear the shrieks of the Nightclan cats as they're attacked. _Silverpaw, help us! _I close my eyes. _I'm sorry. I'm not one of you anymore. _I take a deep breath. _It was a dream. Just a dream._

I stand up, still shaking from the nightmare, and pad slowly and quietly out of the den. It's still nighttime. I can see Stormtail guarding the entrance. I freeze, panicked. What would Stormtail think of her for trying to sneak out of the camp? When Stormtail doesn't react, I inch a little closer and sigh with relief as I notice he's fast asleep. I pad quietly past him. I'm nearly out of the camp when I notice a flash to my right. I look and see Whisperpaw, the silent medicine cat apprentice. The truth is, no one really knows if she's truly mute or not. She's never even tried to say a word. She communicates with nods of her head and swishes of her tail. Whisperpaw looks at me for a moment and nods her head silently before turning around and vanishing into the medicine den.

I take no more chances. I dash out of the camp, itching to do something other than wait for the dream to return to me. I run through the territory, never stopping for anything. When I realize I'm nearing Riverrun, I slow my step. If I sneak up on prey while they are drinking from the river, I might get an easy kill.

I sneak up to Riverrun. Sure enough, a thrush is drinking from the river. I position myself downwind of the thrush, never taking my eyes off of it. I slowly creep forward, being careful not to step on any twigs or leaves. Once I get close enough to it, I pounce. I swiftly bite its neck before it can make a sound. I dip my head. "Thank you, Starclan, for this thrush's life. Without it, Leafclan would starve." I murmur quietly. I bury my thrush before heading over to the river. I position myself over the river, watching it carefully as I wait for a fish to come by. I see a flash of silver right before I slash my paw into the water. I scoop the fish up and onto the shore, pinning it and swiftly taking its life as I mutter a thank you to Starclan. I start to bury it before I stop. "I'm not on a patrol right now. I can hunt for myself." So I settle down and bite into the fish. A lot of Leafclan cats would have just dug up the thrush instead, but not me. Once I started eating prey, my mother never let me eat the frogs and lizards that most Nightclan cats eat. No, she always had me eat the prey of other clans. Now I know why. She was preparing me to go off to a new clan. I was already used to the taste of fish. I bury the remains of the fish before bounding off to my real destination.

I halt as I reach the border. I take a deep breath as I'm hit with a wave of nostalgia. _Nightclan. _I look out to Nightclan territory and wish I was there, training with Volepaw and Stripepaw, with my mother and father watching with pride. There, I could have been great. I could have been known as Silverpaw, the brave Nightclan apprentice and noble daughter of Brightstar. In Leafclan, I will only ever be known as the poor apprentice who misses her mommy. I sigh and pad over to the nearest tree. There's a little indent at the base, with just enough room for me to curl up. I'm right before the Nightclan border, and I can scent it from here. I close my eyes and sleep.

I wake up just before dawn. I reach out and stretch my legs, shaking the sleep out of my limbs. I race back to Riverrun to collect my prey. On the way, I notice an unfamiliar scent, but I ignore it. As I race into the clearing, I realize what that scent was. _Stormclan! _Reedstar has his back to me and is facing five more of his warriors. I start to back up but one of the cats lets out a yowl. "Hey, there's Silverkit!" I turn and race off. I run towards the camp, but I know my efforts will be futile. I feel Reedstar ram into me and tackle me to the floor. "Let me go!" I shout. Reedstar ignores me and glances over his shoulder. "Streamclaw, help me with her." I see a dark gray tabby cat approach me. This must be Streamclaw, the Stormclan deputy. Streamclaw and Reedstar grip my scruff and pick me up. "Hey! Put me down!" The Stormclan cats ignore me. I struggle and shout all the way through Leafclan territory. As we pass the border between Leafclan and Stormclan, I finally give up. What's the point of fighting now? No one will hear me.


End file.
